Research culture in allied health: a systematic review

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna Borkowski ◽  
Carol McKinstry ◽  
Matthew Cotchett ◽  
Cylie Williams ◽  
Terry Haines

Research evidence is required to guide optimal allied health practice and inform policymakers in primary health care. Factors that influence a positive research culture are not fully understood, and nor is the impact of a positive research culture on allied health professionals. The aim of this systematic review was to identify factors that affect allied health research culture and capacity. An extensive search of 11 databases was conducted in June 2015. Studies were included if they were published in English, had full-text availability and reported research findings relating to allied health professions. Study quality was evaluated using the McMaster Critical Review Forms. Fifteen studies were eligible for inclusion. A meta-analysis was not performed because of heterogeneity between studies. Allied health professionals perceive that their individual research skills are lower in comparison to their teams and organisation. Motivators for conducting research for allied health professionals include developing skills, increasing job satisfaction and career advancement. Barriers include a lack of time, limited research skills and other work roles taking priority. Multilayered strategies, such as collaborations with external partners and developing research leadership positions, aimed at addressing barriers and enablers, are important to enhance allied health research culture and capacity.

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. e000433
Author(s):  
Shahram Zaheer ◽  
Liane R Ginsburg ◽  
Hannah J Wong ◽  
Kelly Thomson ◽  
Lorna Bain

BackgroundThere is growing evidence regarding the importance of contextual factors for patient/staff outcomes and the likelihood of successfully implementing safety improvement interventions such as checklists; however, certain literature gaps still remain—for example, lack of research examining the interactive effects of safety constructs on outcomes. This study has addressed some of these gaps, together with adding to our understanding of how context influences safety.PurposeThe impact of staff perceptions of safety climate (ie, senior and supervisory leadership support for safety) and teamwork climate on a self-reported safety outcome (ie, overall perceptions of patient safety (PS)) were examined at a hospital in Southern Ontario.MethodsCross-sectional survey data were collected from nurses, allied health professionals and unit clerks working on intensive care, general medicine, mental health or emergency department.ResultsHierarchical regression analyses showed that perceptions of senior leadership (p<0.001) and teamwork (p<0.001) were significantly associated with overall perceptions of PS. A non-significant association was found between perceptions of supervisory leadership and the outcome variable. However, when staff perceived poorer senior leadership support for safety, the positive effect of supervisory leadership on overall perceptions of PS became significantly stronger (p<0.05).Practice implicationsOur results suggest that leadership support at one level (ie, supervisory) can substitute for the absence of leadership support for safety at another level (ie, senior level). While healthcare organisations should recruit into leadership roles and retain individuals who prioritise safety and possess adequate relational competencies, the field would now benefit from evidence regarding how to build leadership support for PS. Also, it is important to provide on-site workshops on topics (eg, conflict management) that can strengthen working relationships across professional and unit boundaries.


2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna Borkowski ◽  
Carol McKinstry ◽  
Matthew Cotchett

Research evidence is required to guide best practice, inform policy and improve the health of communities. Current indicators consider allied health research culture to be low. This study aimed to measure the allied health research culture and capacity in a Victorian regional health service. The Research Capacity and Culture tool was used to evaluate research capacity and culture across individual, team and organisation domains. One-way ANOVA was used to determine differences between allied health professions, whereas responses to open-ended questions were themed using open coding. One hundred thirty-six allied health professionals completed the survey. There were statistically significant differences in the organisation domain between social work, physiotherapy and occupational therapy professions; in the team domain, between social work and all other professions. Motivators for conducting research included providing a high-quality service, developing skills and increasing job satisfaction. Barriers included other work roles taking priority, a lack of time and limited research skills. Multi-layered strategies including establishing conjoint research positions are recommended to increase allied health research culture in this regional area.


2017 ◽  
Vol 73 (8) ◽  
pp. 1825-1837 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Pollock ◽  
Pauline Campbell ◽  
Ruth Deery ◽  
Mick Fleming ◽  
Jean Rankin ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacinta Sheehan ◽  
Kate Laver ◽  
Anoo Bhopti ◽  
Miia Rahja ◽  
Tim Usherwood ◽  
...  

Abstract Background There is a compelling rationale that effective communication between hospital allied health professionals and primary care practitioners could improve quality and continuity of patient care. It is not known which methods of communication are used, nor how effectively they facilitate the transition of care when a patient is discharged home from hospital. Our systematic review aims to investigate the methods and effectiveness of communication between hospital allied health professionals and primary care practitioners. Method Systematic review of quantitative and qualitative studies with narrative synthesis. Medline, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsycInfo and Proquest Nursing and Allied Health Sources were searched from January 2003 until January 2020 for studies that examined hospital allied health professionals communicating with primary care practitioners. Risk of bias in the different study designs were appraised using recognised tools and a content analysis conducted of the methodologies used. Results From the located 12,281 papers (duplicates removed), 24 studies met the inclusion criteria with hospital allied health professionals communicating in some form with primary care practitioners. There was, however, limited literature investigating the methods and/or the effectiveness of communication between hospital allied health professionals and primary care practitioners.Conclusion There is currently no 'gold standard' method or measure of communication between hospital allied health professionals and primary care practitioners. There is an urgent need to develop and evaluate multidisciplinary communication with enhanced health information technologies to improve collaboration across healthcare settings and facilitate continuity of integrated people-centred care.Registration: www.crd.york.uk PROSPERO CRD42019120410


Author(s):  
Louis-Pierre Auger ◽  
Myrian Grondin ◽  
Mélanie Aubertin ◽  
Audrey Marois ◽  
Johanne Filiatrault ◽  
...  

2006 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 240-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn McPherson ◽  
Paula Kersten ◽  
Steve George ◽  
Val Lattimer ◽  
Alice Breton ◽  
...  

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